Earned It
by InuLuver02
Summary: One-shot! Arnold and Helga's relationship through the years. Fluff and maybe angst I don't know. But mostly feelings and understanding. ArnoldxHelga Mentions of PhoebexGerald.


**Songfic with Arnold and Helga (because I love this pairing). Inspired by _"Earned It" by The Weeknd_ (currently obsessed with this song as well) and this idea just popped into my head.**

 **{I own nothing but this story} Enjoy ^_^**

* * *

 _/_

 _You make it look like it's magic_

How her persona could turn on and off like that, he'd never understand. It was astonishing how closed his eyes had been for all those years. Just taking an extra second to turn around and look at her after she'd hound him, was all he ever needed. She'd flicker like a flame and even her eyes would change, but not always. No, not always.

' _Cause I see nobody (nobody) but you, you, you_

Her eyes could always find him. It was more like radar for her. A flutter of a feeling and she could turn just in time. But then the angry, tyrannical façade would rear its ugly head and give him nothing but disconcerting signals. Helga always considered herself a tough cookie, sure, but not all of her was shards of glass and sharpened knives.

 _I'm never confused_

But she confused him. From the gradual lower tone of voice towards him, to the spunk in her steps; it was one thing one day and another thing the next. Was he giving it all too much thought?

 _I'm so used to being used_

She'd realized, long ago that she was being used. Used as an excuse for Arnold to not talk to her. _**Really**_ talk. She was what kept them from voicing the truth to one another and she got used to it. Even after they became sort-of friends. She had to believe that.

' _Cause I hate when the moment's expected_

Arnold didn't particularly like when Helga would catch herself. She'd turned over a new leaf in middle school; acting slightly nicer towards him. But when they'd bump into each other or accidently get stuck in the door she'd get ready to spew out her notorious "watch it football head!" But instead it was "Sorry, footb– Arnold." He disliked it. Her momentary lapses of mean were much better; where sometimes she'd even smile when he apologized quickly and she returned it with her own genuine apology.

 _So Ima care for you, you, you_

Helga G. Pataki knew herself and she knew herself quite well. That's why she knew she would always care for Arnold. As she aged she did question whether or not it really was love however, but that wasn't a recurrent notion.

 _Ima care for you, you, you, you_

Arnold Shortman could have bet his life on the idea that Helga loathed him. That he had done something to her, something that caused her to treat him the way she had, but after her somewhat deranged confession, he was at a complete standstill. And the glimpse of secrecy in her eyes every time their eyes locked after that, only sufficed to baffle his senses. And though his friends didn't believe Helga was capable of change, that she was merely a "persecutor in pink" (Gerald's words), and that her difference in attitude was somehow due to a lack of interest, Arnold still began to care for the girl.

 _And you deserve it_

She tried to be nicer to him and that meant a lot to him. So he cared that she would leave the room if she'd witnessed him flirting with a crush in 6th grade.

 _The way you work it_

Her ability to distill fear in anyone who messed with her or her friends was amazing and yet she could just as effortlessly cheer someone up in that same instance. So how could anyone not care when one of her rare smiles was wiped off her face? He cared when she saw him holding his first girlfriend's hand as he walked down the hall in 8th grade.

 _Cause girl you earned it_

He cared when he'd started dating Rhonda freshman year of high school and he no longer saw her smiles.

 _Cause girl you earned it_

He cared when she didn't show up the first day of sophomore year. And she didn't return junior year, nor their senior year, and so he'd stopped looking once graduation day came. But that didn't stop him from saving an empty seat for the blonde, for he needed the confirmation. He missed her.

 _You know our love would be tragic, so you don't pay it no mind_

Helga's decision to transfer high schools wasn't as sudden as she had liked it to be. She had been mulling it over from her final year of middle school and well into high school, but still her heart kept her irrational. It pained her to see him with someone else. She knew the day would come, but visions in your head were always exceptionally different from real life. Her collection of written affections for her cornflower haired angel showed no signs of faltering and this was her trigger. Everything unspoken would never reach him.

 _We live with no lies_

They couldn't be together. Perhaps not then or ever; that wasn't a lie. That's why Phoebe had to put the forms in the mailbox for her.

"Maybe some time away from ice cream would help you stop thinking about it" the small girl had said.

Helga looked at her empty hands, the forms would be picked up by the mailman by this time tomorrow, and the school would have them the following day.

"You think so?"

"Of course! Studies show that addictions are easier to cope with when they aren't as readily available" she smiled.

Helga smirked "Hmm, I'll remember that next time I'm over at your place and I see a box of LemonHeads."

"Exact- hey, I don't eat them _**that**_ much."

"Pheebs, you made your dad bring you a factory box full of them on his last business trip."

"I, well. Is it my fault they don't have them in our city?" she answered, looking away. "They're just so good."

"Yeah. Good since the first time Gerald brought you a box from his trip to New York our summer of 6th grade" Helga teased.

"N-no. I've always liked lemon candies, he just knew that" she said with a blush.

"I'm just messing with you Pheebs" she chuckled, nudging her best friend's arm.

"And Phoebe. Thanks."

"No problem Helga."

' _Cause I hate when the moment's expected_

Perhaps her radar really was a blessing. The first week into sophomore year she'd avoided bumping into Arnold at least ten times. First it was the bus she had forgotten, then it was the route she walked home, and then the arcade after school. She had to find another bus to take her the same way downtown, take the longer way home, and claim a new hangout spot. But she'd managed to slip from Arnold's view every single time; releasing a heavy breath when he was safely out of her sight. Though she had sworn she'd seen a ghost of a smile on his lips once when she'd barely managed to slip around the corner. But avoiding him would get easier and her heart would learn to adapt.

 _Ima care for you, you, you, you_

Helga dated a boy named Alfred. And ironic as it was, he was nothing like Arnold. Where Arnold had cornflower hair, Alfred had chestnut brown. Where Arnold held a soft, understanding voice, Alfred held a deep and enigmatic voice. His style was rugged and unpredictable, much like Helga's, but Arnold's was laid back and even fashionable. And though she grew to love Alfred's voice, faded jean jacket that he often lent her, and even his unnerving ability to look right through her eyes and into her very being, still she couldn't let go of Arnold. They dated until senior year and he'd told her he felt there was always someone else between them.

 _We said it wouldn't be love_

Fate was an odd theory. Of course many believed in it, but not always. So what could it have been? What was it that brought the two back together? Helga never dreamed she would see Arnold again. Well, be in the same room with him again anyway. She still knew his neighborhood of course, and during her particularly boring days where she was off work, or Phoebe was with Gerald, and her other friends were busy, she'd take a stroll down memory lane. Never aware of the fact that while she was passing his iconic boarding house from across the street, he was passing her bluestone home as well. Arnold could never muster enough courage to go speak to her, relying on the little information Phoebe would give up whenever he asked about her because she was correct in saying that "it wasn't her right to give extended reasons for her friend's absence."

 _Convinced we were broken inside_

Helga dated two other guys by the time she'd reached the end of her sophomore year of college and decided to transfer to the one closer to home. It was no surprise that those relationships hadn't worked out either, though she was lucky that they always ended mutually. So she could say she wasn't running away from anything by wanting to move back to her childhood home. Her parents had changed over the years, not completely of course, and she knew they'd never be perfect, but their relationship was manageable. She was even on good terms with her sister; that's how you knew they'd all changed. And of course, she could never ignore the glittering in her heart reserved for Arnold. It was just the way her heart was, even if it felt torn at times. He'd changed a lot more than Helga would have thought, from his football shaped head that he seemed to have grown into (Phoebe sent her plenty of pictures in her emails), to his lean physique, and lengthening hair. She wondered if he would recognize her. Helga could admit she'd curved in all of the appropriate places, and her style really showed that, but her hair was no longer its recognizable two pig tail style, but a long, layered, mess of waves that ran down her back. Her long legs made her seem a lot taller now too and her eyes held an unreadable gaze behind dark eyeliner; but she had a feeling it wouldn't matter once they locked eyes.

 _Inside_

He'd seen plenty of girls like her, or at least he thought they'd looked like her, until he'd run over, tap their shoulder and see another face when they turned to him. It always sent a wave of disappointment coursing through him. And apologizing, he would rub his neck in embarrassment and wander back over to a disappointed Gerald who could only shake his head at his friend.

"Man, you have got to stop doing that" he said, clapping his sullen friend on the back.

"I know Gerald."

"These girls are gonna think you're running over to ask them out" he chuckled, nudging him in the ribs. "You know how you're sweet guy rep is popular here."

"Maybe I'm too nice of a guy" Arnold replied, looking around. "You know I still want something like what you and Phoebe have."

"Are you really complaining about the fact that you can have any pretty girl on campus?" Gerald asked, eyebrows raised.

"I –no. You know what I mean!"

"I do. Not all can be as lucky as me" he replied, looking pleased with himself. "But I gotta tell ya, I didn't think you'd still be hung up on Helga Pataki."

Arnold's ears prickled as they flushed red "I didn't –who said I still –what are you talking about man?"

"Arnold" Gerald said, stopping to put his hands on his friend's shoulders "You've got it bad" he stated, smirk in place.

"Whatever" was all he could say, slapping the hands away as Gerald laughed.

"Don't worry. I'll ask Phe for a picture for you" he winked.

Arnold punched him in the arm, but smiled nonetheless.

' _Cause girl you're perfect (girl you're perfect)_

Arnold ran a hand through his shaggy hair, letting out a yawn as he walked down the hall to the vending machines. It was a cool September night on campus, most of the students in the dorms out partying or doing homework as he was doing before his stomach convinced him into taking a break. Though he had gotten distracted by pictures of Helga; Gerald emailed them to him before he'd left the room to meet Phoebe two hours prior. So he hadn't been working on it as long as he should have been, but he definitely couldn't do it on an empty stomach. And so he smiled as he walked towards the room with accessible snacks, only halting when he heard a few bangs, the sound of a machine being shaken, and an unmistakable shout of "criminey!" coming from ahead of him. He eased his steps, peering into the room without announcing himself. A girl with long blonde hair held in a loose ponytail stood in front of the soda machine, pressing the buttons furiously and kicking it a few more times, before putting her hands up in defeat.

"Stupid machines never work for me!" she huffed, folding her arms over her chest. Her voice sent a shiver up his spine and he wondered if he was dreaming.

 _You're always worth it (always worth it)_

It all flooded back to him and he was piecing every detail he'd ever collected on Helga, as if posting up the evidence to a crime on a display board. If ever there was the time to believe in the saying of 'in absence the heart grows fonder' now was it. For Arnold realized that it was worth it. Worth not seeing her all of those years, if only for this moment in time.

 _And you deserve it (and you deserve it)_

 _The way you work it (the way you work it)_

' _Cause girl you earned it (earned it)_

And yet a deep sense of regret settled in his throat. A cold wave also flashed through him suddenly as he thought of whether or not he deserved to be so pleased with her presence; if he'd _**earned**_ it. But if he hadn't, he'd prove to her that he could and that he would. After all, he owed her a rooftop confession of his own.

 _Girl you earned it (earned it)_

She knew he was there. A part of her hoped it wasn't real, but her heart couldn't lie and it was a bird fluttering around its cage. She heard the footsteps, slow and steady, and so darn familiar.

"You just have to know how to work these old things" his soothing voice said from behind, nearly taking her legs out as her knees weakened.

Arnold walked around her, their arms touching by a hair, and banged the side of the soda machine with two hefty knocks. A moment later the sound of thudding came from within it and her Yahoo soda appeared at the bottom.

"Here you go, Helga" Arnold said, handing her the beverage.

"Thank you A-Arnold."

He smiled and she couldn't help but smile back.

"It's been a long time" he whispered.

"I know."

"I missed you."

She gasped, gripping her soda, and biting her lip.

He reached out and took her hand in his, eliciting another gasp from the young woman as he led them out of the room.

"What are you doing?" she questioned in utter confusion.

"I want to show you something. And we've got a bunch of catching up to do" he replied, grinning as he looked back at her.

She stopped, digging her heels into the floor, and causing her hand to slip from his grasp. "Hey bucko, who said I wanted to go to your room?" she questioned, arms folded over her chest, eye brow raised.

His grin grew wider, if that was possible and his heart hummed in bliss. There was the Helga he knew and loved.

"So you don't want to catch up?" he asked, taking her hand again. "I can do all the talking if you don't want to. I have a lot to say."

She smiled "Well, I don't know."

"Helga, would you like to come to my room and talk for hours on end while I throw in apologies and buy you food?" he asked, with all seriousness in his eyes.

She grinned "Food? Now you're talking!" she laughed, eyes glittering.

And he laughed with her, pulling her into his arms as he did and squeezing her just as tightly as she was squeezing him.

/

* * *

Bye bye ~


End file.
